Critical points and transitions in embryo development
The Petridou group aims to understand how complexity arises during early embryo development by focusing on the emergence and function of collective tissue properties. To do so, we combine diverse disciplines including comparative embryology, biophysics, statistical mechanics, quantitative and synthetic biology.
Camilla and Nicoletta review the role of critical phenoma in embryo development. Critical transitions may underlie many biological processes, like gene expression, cell differentiation and tissue mechanics. Yet, this field is only taking off recently in biology. Read more about it in the review!
Laura Rustarazo-Calvo joins the group as predoctoral fellow. She will try to understand how cells perceive and react to their environment in the zebrafish embryo.
New group leader Nicoletta Petridou explains her fascination with the complexity of early embryo development, and how the interdisciplinary nature of EMBL will aid her research.